30 is the new 29

I know a lot of people born in 1982 and you know what that means... they will all be turning 30 this year. Thirty is a big deal. People have extravagant parties and destination parties and I happen to be going to two before May. I'm also happy to report I was born in '83. There is still time! Apparently I need to start planning something amazing. Oh, and I'll need to begin my list of Thirty before Thirty (the 30 things you want to accomplish before you turn thirty). Until then, I'll keep baking you cakes!

Heed these words of wisdom from Lucille Ball, "The secret to staying young is to live honestly, eat slowly, and lie about your age." HAPPY BIRTHDAY to all my 30-somethings and a pre-happy birthday to those of you who will soon be thirty (aka my sister!).

Cakes worthy of a 30th Birthday Celebration

Carrot Cake

Rice Krispie Cake

Cookie Cake

Coconut Cake

Banana Cake

Lebovitz's Mint Ice Cream

I finally let Michael eat the last scoop of ice cream this week. Mid August, I warned him I needed one scoop to photograph for the blog and he reluctantly put the tub back in the freezer and went for vanilla instead. He reminded me a few times that I needed to take photos so he could eat it, and I reminded him that I needed good light for a good ice cream photo. I also needed to be home before 7 with nothing else to do on a weeknight to make this happen. August was a busy month.

I tried a new recipe from The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz. I think he is currently traveling around San Francisco and I'm resisting the urge to stalk him. I might have to visit Smitten Ice Cream soon though because he gave it a pretty good review on his blog... ice cream via liquid nitrogen. hmm.

I chose real mint ice cream. Why would I do such a thing you ask? Well, I have a garden now... you could say I'm developing a green thumb, and I'm growing mint. Mint is an easy plant even if you have a black thumb. Just beware as it is likely to take over areas of your garden unless confined to a pot. My mint is weird. It has smaller leaves and when it gets tall the leaves start to turn purple (this may mean my window box is too small). I used it anyways, even some of the purple, and it turned into a very refreshing ice cream. I added chocolate chips of course because mint needs the best flavor companion possible and I was a bit nervous about the strong fresh mint taste. If all else failed, at least the would be chocolate.

I liked it, I think Michael liked it too. He ate most of it anyways with bits of leftover cake that I didn't make into cake pops. My preference is still peppermint extract flavored ice cream, but this one was nice for a change, and nice to be able to use something I've grown in a recipe.

Mint Ice Cream
The Perfect Scoop, David Lebovitz

 1 C whole milk
1/4 C sugar
2 C heavy cream
5 large egg yolks
2 C fresh packed mint leaves
1 C roughly chopped chocolate (mini chocolate chips work well too) my addition

Heat milk, sugar, and 1 C cream in a heavy bottom saucepan. Add the mint leaves and steep for one hour. This means stir them up and cover with a lid. Go do some sit-ups since you'll be eating this later, and and strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer. Make sure you push leaves against the strainer to extract as much liquid as possible. Lebovits says your cream will be a lovely shade of emerald, but mine was barely green. Warm this mix back up on meduim heat.

In another bowl, whisk the egg yolks. Once the milk is warm, slowly add the milk, whisking constantly, to the eggs and then return all of this to the pot and continue to heat until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon. Stir constantly and try not to let anything burn to the bottom.

In another bowl (more dishes please!) add the remainder of the cream and set the mesh strainer on top (remove leaves). Pour the minty custard through the strainer again to eliminate scrambled eggs in your ice cream and stir into the cream. Place over an ice bath to help cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight or at least four hours. You can add green food coloring now.

Prepare the ice cream according to your machine manufacturer's recommendations. Be sure you've frozen your bowl for as long as required or your ice cream will never get thick. Freeze again for a few hours until it's scoopable, about 4 hours.

Ice cream takes a while, so it's best to plan ahead if your're making it for an event!

Happy Churning!

Easy Bake cOven - Mint Chocolate Brownies and Hot Chocolate Mix

I can't believe the year is already over. I've enjoyed time home with family and am looking forward to slightly warmer yet rainy weather in San Francisco. It shocks me every time I go to the midwest. I'm not sure how I survived 23 years of my life in such bitter cold. Cold that makes your face hurt. Cold that makes you itchy and dry and thankful for long underwear. I know I'm a wimp, and even more-so after living in a temperate climate for almost five years. I don't deny it one bit, and according to my family it wasn't even that cold. Oh well, one thing I do know is I'll welcome all warm drinks into my hands no matter the temperature.

A few years ago (yes after moving to the temperate climate) I started drinking hot water. I know it sounds weird, but a friend of mine did and it's better than drinking tea all the time. Holding a cup of warm water in your hand is nice. Holding a cup of hot chocolate in your hand is even better. I probably drank way too much hot chocolate as a kid. I was never a fan of those tiny dried marshmallows that came in the packets though. I'd rather not have any marshmallows my hot chocolate even if they are fresh and fluffy. I like hot chocolate so much that I once bought a gigantic oatmeal sized carton of powder to have any time I wanted. This happened sometime during college and I had it for a long time (possibly two years). I was sad to see it go, but I used it all.

This is how the first recipe originated for the cOven this month; wishing I had the recipe to a hot chocolate mix I tried once in college. So I contacted Joanna, said recipe owner, and asked her to share her recipe and the story behind it. You can read about it and the other December recipes on the cOven blog.

I thought making the mix was something I could do with my nephew. I'm not sure how his kitchen skills are developing at the age of three, but why not make a mess and try it out? After all, we were at Grandma's house and I didn't think she would mind having powdered milk everywhere....

We didn't make too much of a mess and it was really fun. It was the second time I got him in the kitchen to "help" while I was visiting. The first time he was interested in the rolls my mom, sister and I were making so I gave him some to play with. Then he asked if I could make him a "Michaelangelo" out of the dough... the ninja turtle that is... so I summoned M to the kitchen. He made a pretty fantastic turtle out of dough and gave me permission to bake him. He ate him for dinner and was incredibly happy to nibble off all his limbs.
Like I said before, I was expecting to have a huge mess on my hands with powdered ingredients going into a large bowl, but we did ok (minus the periodical hand reaching in).

J: It looks like snow
me: yes, it's powdered milk
J: powder milk? I don't think so... WE NEED MORE POWDERRR!
me: ok, what about the chocolate?
J: yes put some in
J: MORE CHOC-O-LATE!
me: how about more white powder? (it's easier if you layer them in)
J: ok... looks like snow... more snow
me: what color is snow (just checking...)
J: WHITE....
J: I want more chocolate... can I eat some? 

Our conversation went on like this for a while until we had emptied all powdered milk mixes into the bowl. Whisking slow is key. Avoiding hands in the mix is also key. After it was all mixed in I let him taste some and he thought it was pretty good. Maybe someday he will be a lovely little baker like his Aunt!

I ran out of time to put the mix in cute little jars (and Christmas had already passed) but I still might. Unless you intend to feed an army or hoard your chocolate mix all winter like me, you should give some away. It makes plenty!

The other recipe I wanted to try was inspired by Smitten Kitchen. Mint Chocolate Brownies. I stuck closely to the brownie recipe, and deviated from the ganache toppings. Partially because I didn't have enough white chocolate on hand, partially because I didn't want a thick layer of chocolate ganache on the brownies.

They turned out extremely chocolatey and dense. Fantastic if you like fudge-y brownies with a subtle mint flavor. Instead of layering the peppermint in between, I piped it on top and it turned into a lovely plaid pattern with the ganache. I used about one third of the required ganaches from Smitten Kitchen and simplified the peppermint portion. M stated that they should have a hint of peppermint but not be overwhelming. He did a taste test to make sure my proportions were right. I preferred to eat them at room temperature or slightly warm, M preferred them cold. Either way, they may cause sudden peaks in blood sugar levels or cavities. They last just over a week in the fridge and a few more days in an airtight container. Now, if only there were some left to enjoy the hot chocolate with!

I am looking forward to days without tons of sweets. I fee like I ate an entire five pound bag of sugar this Christmas. This is supposed to inspire New Year's Resolutions right? I hope so, and I resolve to keep all of you updated on my baking a little more frequently in the new year. 

Recipe Notes
For the Hot Chocolate:
I didn't add the 2 cups of powdered sugar to the hot chocolate mix. After tasting the dry mix, I didn't think it needed to be any sweeter.

For the Brownie Mint Ganache:
Heat 3/4 C heavy cream on medium-high heat until it just comes to a boil. Immediately pour over a heaping half cup of white chocolate and let it stand for one minute without touching. Slowly stir the chocolate until it is melted and smooth. Add one teaspoon of peppermint extract (or to taste) and let it cool slightly. I also didn't feel the need to make it green... maybe for St. Patrick's Day.

For the Brownie Chocolate ganache:
Heat 1/3 C cream until it comes to a boil. Pour over 1/2 C chocolate and let stand for one minute. Stir until smooth and pour over cooled brownies. Spread evenly with a spatula. Flash freeze for 10 minutes then add the mint ganache on top. 

The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies.... so far

I've been on a mission to find the best chocolate chip cookie recipe. I have one I like for my cookie cake, but not one I like on it's own. (Alton's cookies are pretty tasty but you need bread flour on hand). I have high expectations for my cookies. A chocolate chip cookie cannot be thin and crispy, it can't be tough or dry, it has to have the right chip to batter ratio, it should be a little salty, and it must be so irresistible out of the oven you burn your tongue eating one. There are a lot of factors that this cookie must live up to. It has taken quite a while, but I think I found one that meets most of them. 

Have you ever searched for "the best _______ ever" (you insert something into the blank). I do this a lot. Looking for anything from the best tapas restaurant, or the best hair product for curls - I think you understand. I decided to google "the best chocolate chip cookie ever" and there were so many results. I clicked on one link that claimed to contain the best. It seems like a good resource too - I'll have to dig a little deeper to find out. There are literally tons of recipes all from a variety of sources. This cookie recipe happens to be from a cookbook, Mom's Big Book of Baking, which sounds so cute. I just picture a super mom serving warm cookies to her kiddies when they get home from school... The reviews are great, and there are tips on including kids in your baking. The recipes are also supposed to be quick - not time consuming - for all of you moms running around the house after your kids... or dads. 

The recipe proved tasty. I made a few adjustments to the method and really enjoyed the results. The cookies bake evenly and the dough freezes incredibly well. I like to bake some, then roll little balls of dough and freeze them. It's the best way to make cookies last without going stale - especially if your family consists of two people who should probably not eat so many sweets because someone bakes too much.... 


Try these delicious little morsels soon. 





Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies 
adapted from Mom's Big Book of Baking


2 1/2 C flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 sticks butter melted 
1 C light brown sugar packed
1/2 C sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 C chocolate chips


Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat if you have one. (I baked both with and without and didn't notice much difference). In the bowl of a standing mixer, combine the butter and sugars and beat until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time and the vanilla. Mix until smooth. Measure the flour, soda and salt directly into the sugar mix. Stir on low speed until just combined. Mix in the chocolate chips. (alternately you can mix everything with a wooden spoon or hand mixer if you don't have a stand mixer). Using a cookie scoop, measure out dough balls and place them on the silicone mat. Place the baking sheet in your freezer for 10 minutes, then place the sheet directly into the preheated oven. Bake for 10 minutes, or until the cookie turn golden brown. Remove from the oven and leave the cookies on the sheet for an additional 4 minutes. Transfer the cookies to a wire rack. Eat immediately (or store in an airtight container). 


ps. If you decide you like the cookbook above, try buying it through the link provided! Just click on the image. 

Easy Bake cOven - Blondies

This month, I decided to ask everyone to make whatever recipe they wanted. Usually one member selects the recipe of the month, but I thought it would be fun to see what people made when given the chance. It is sometimes hard to find time to make the chosen recipe; either for lack of time, or lack of event that needs baked goods. I'm always looking for these events so M and I don't eat ourselves into sugar comas. Don't laugh, I'm not joking here. Food comas happen and sugar comas can happen too, thankfully not too often. 

I know it has been a while since I last posted, so before I share with you the recipe pictured above, I'll tell you a little about what's been happening this past month…. 

Work was busy during the beginning of the month. It's good to be busy. I'm pretty sure that M and I had something going on almost every night of the week before we left for vacation… and then we left for vacation. We visited family on the East coast, and set foot in the state of Texas to see more family courtesy of our unexpected layover. I didn't bake anything 3/4 of the month, but made it all up the Sunday after we returned. 

Since I am making our office birthday cakes now, I needed two for this past Monday. Yes, two. Why share on your birthday? And when my office has the opportunity for more cake, they will definitely take it. (The standing joke is screening new hires for birthday months we don't currently have). I also needed a sample cake for a large party I'm doing next weekend. Ambitious yes, possible yes. I even had time for a movie, but I wouldn't recommend it unless you have one of those squishy gel mats they advertise for chefs in the back of my design magazines. Tired feet. 

So that Sunday I made ten six inch cake rounds, and assembled a single layer cake, a double layer cake, and a triple layer cake. The other layer is hanging out in the freezer for now. I guess you could say I made up for all of that non baking in one giant swoop. Satisfying. I'm not posting about cake though. I'm posting about Blondies. The ultimate cookie-bar-brownie-like dessert. They have chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, coconut flakes, and walnuts. That is a lot of stuff in one bite. They are extremely sweet and will probably give you cavities if you don't brush you teeth, but I say worth eating. And worth passing out to your friends (remember - avoid sugar coma). I made these once before and it was a catastrophe. My oven would not ignite, my batter sat too long on the counter, and the leavening reacted too early. Later we learned to turn off the heater when we needed to start the oven - our 1920's era apartment may not have the necessary electrical service required to support all of our gadgets. Someday I'll have a kitchen of my own (with two ovens) and baking ten cakes in one day will literally be a  piece of cake. 

Be sure to check out the Easy Bake cOven blog for more recipe entries this month. 

Blondies

adapted from Baking From My Home to Yours, Dorie Greenspan

2 C flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 sticks butter

1 1/2 C light brown sugar

1/4 C sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1 C chocolate chips

1 C Butterscotch chips

1 C walnuts

1 C shredded coconut

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Butter a 9x13 inch baking pan. (I don't have one so I used a 10x15 inch jelly roll pan - it makes thinner blondies - but for the thick version use a 9x13 pan). 

Cream Butter for 3 minutes with the paddle attachment. Add sugars and cream again until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time and mix for one minute in between. Add vanilla and mix until incorporated. 

Mix the dry ingredients together and add slowly to the mixer. Mix on low speed until just combined. (this means there might be a little flour visible). Add chips, nuts, and coconut with a spatula - or if you are feeling risky you can use the mixer on low. Spread the batter into the pan and even out the top. Bake for 40 minutes or until the top is nice and golden and the bars begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. A knife tested in the center should come out clean unless you happen to stick it into a melted chocolate piece. 

Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, invert, and turn topside up to finish cooling. Cut into bars - yields 32. 

Little Bits of Heaven

I made some cookies to share at a superbowl party last weekend. If I were a man, I might daydream heaven has something like unlimited cookie dough and football... but since I'm no where close to manly, I'm happy just baking in celebration of helmet cracking and dog piling (my heaven includes puppies). I intended to make something really kitschy like a football cake or little helmet shaped sugar cookies - then I realized I didn't have time for all of that. Instead, I made cookies. Seems it may have taken the same amount of time to make three different cookies as rolling sugar cookie dough and decorating... it may have also helped if I had white granulated sugar on hand when I started. oops. That extra bag in my baking cabinet turned out to be a mystery bag of flour, not sugar. Bummer. Two cookies out, new cookies to come.

I was able to make Coconut Macaroons on Saturday night and subbed sweetened coconut and a tablespoon of brown sugar for the granulated. Interesting combo. Very chewy. I'm not sure if I like coconut macaroons or not. I might like this one more if it didn't taste so much like almond extract/marzipan. Next time I'll switch for coconut extract. Pretty, but super almondy. Don't come to the wrong conclusion - people did like them - I would like them with less almond.

[insert: sleep, wake up early, go to race, watch M run a half marathon, go home, fast trip to grocery store for sugar, make cookies.]

If I had made more cookies on Saturday rather than wait till the last minute Sunday, you may never have been exposed to a favorite of mine, The Orange Snowball. I know it is not snowing here, but these cookies are like little magical white puffs dotted with orange zest and rolled in sugar. They sparkle. Snowball-esque. Pretty. Tasty. You must try them. They do make a nice addition to a Christmas cookie box, but you shouldn't wait that long. They go just as nice with tea and coffee (or beer while watching football). They are simple to make and do not require a lot of ingredients. And unlike my description, they are more like a shortbread cookie than puffs of air.

Third cookie. I found this recipe while scouring the net for a cookie recipe that used solely brown sugar. After reading some recipes, I decided to wait for regular sugar, it seemed appropriate. And I stumbled onto a chewy chocolate chip recipe by Alton Brown I thought I should try. The other 600 people who tried it seemed to like it a lot - and baking with bread flour seemed interesting enough. The science behind extra gluten in the flour is supposed to make a chewier cookie. Unless I did a side by side taste test I couldn't really say how chewy these were but they were definitely good. I'd make them again. If you have bread flour on hand try them out.

Coconut Macarons

2 2/3 C shredded coconut

1/2 C sugar

1/3 C flour

1/4 tsp salt

4 egg whites

1/2 tsp almond extract - or coconut extract

2 oz semisweet chocolate

1/8 tsp shortening

Preheat oven to 325˚F. Mix ingredients together in a medium bowl. Scoop dough into balls and place evenly on a greased and floured cookie sheet. Bake 20-25 minutes until golden. Cool on a wire rack. Melt chocolate and shortening in microwave on low power. Decorate the cookies with the chocolate after they have cooled. Store at room temperature for 3-4 days.

Orange Snowballs

1 C butter

3/4 C powdered sugar

1 T + 2 tsp orange zest divided

1 T orange juice

2 2/3 C flour

sugar

Preheat the oven to 325˚F. Beat butter for a minute until creamy. Add powdered sugar and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add juice and continue beating. Add in the flour and 1 T zest and mix on low speed until the dough starts to come together. This might take a few minutes so be patient. Divide the dough evenly into 8 segments. From these segments, make 6 equal pieces of dough. Roll the dough into balls and set aside. Once you have rolled them all, coat them with granulated sugar and place on a baking sheet 1 1/2 inches apart. Bake for 12 minutes. While the cookies are baking, mix the remaining zest with about 1/2 C sugar with your fingers. Remove cookies from oven and as soon as you can handle them, roll them in the zest/sugar mixture. Transfer to a wire rack to cool. Store airtight for up to 5 days.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - Alton Brown, Food Network

I didn't change a thing.

Fudge

Growing up, we always had fudge around the holidays. My Great Great Grandmother passed down her peanut butter fudge recipe from the Great Depression and most of my dad's side of the family makes it in tradition now. The story is that she used to make this fudge just before the peanut butter spoiled (I suppose peanut butter was much better for you then). It was a treat for the family and a way to avoid wasting food. I wish I were this good about not wasting food! (especially since she made candy out of it). Sometimes we avoid produce like kale a little too long and it spoils. Apparently not my Great Great Grandma. If I could figure out how to make Kale into candy I might eat it more often.... I can't remember how old I was when I started helping with the fudge making. It is a bit tricky because the recipe doesn't have Alton Brown food science behind it. You actually have to know terms like "softball stage" and be able to decipher when the gloss is beaten out. I didn't make the peanut butter fudge this holiday, but I did turn to a very simple (you might even say cheater) recipe given to me my M's aunt. I believe it appeared in the Chronicle years ago and she has been making it since. The super easy fudge recipe doesn't require a thermometer and consists of three base ingredients: Chocolate, Vanilla, Sweetened Condensed Milk. You can add in what you like. I decided this would be a good item to send to my brother in law who is currently out of the country. I sent some candied pecans as well and don't know for sure yet whether they made it. I made 24 little fudge balls in my mini muffin tin complete with snowman paper liners. I'm sure he will appreciate all of the cuteness (note the sarcasm here). If you can microwave chocolate without burning it, you should try this recipe, if this sounds terrifying, just stick with a double boiler. I like to use semi sweet chocolate or darker chocolate since the sweetened condensed milk has such a high sugar content. In the past I have added nuts, Andes Mints, and peanut butter chips. This time I just added white chocolate chips because they seemed least likely for someone to dislike.

The only trick to this fudge is not overheating the chocolate. It takes as few as three 30 second intervals in the microwave to melt. Just remember to stir a lot after every zap. The less time in the microwave the better. Like I said before, you can still use a double boiler if you want, the microwave just makes it that much easier (and leaves fewer dishes to wash afterwards). The final product is not going to be as good as something from a fancy fudge shop, but it's still worth trying. If you don't overheat it, it will be creamy, and depending on the additions it will have a nice texture.

I'm including my family recipe for you to try if you wish. It takes a few tries to master unless you are a skilled candy maker. I might try it again to see if I can make the instructions more descriptive. I don't plan on making it very soon... all of the holiday candy is making me feel guilty about my lack of exercise during our visit home.

Fool Proof Fudge San Francisco Chronicle 18 oz chocolate 1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk 1 1/2 tsp vanilla 1/2 C chopped nuts (or whatever you wish to add) Prepare an 8x8 inch pan by lining it with waxed paper, set aside. Melt Chocolate with sweetened condensed milk in a double boiler or the microwave. Working quickly, stir in vanilla, then nuts and spread into prepared baking dish. You can reserve some of the nuts for the top or add additional nuts to the top - press them in slightly. Chill for 2 hours, remove from pan and peel off waxed paper. Cut into 1 inch squares and store covered at room temperature. Great Great Grandma's Peanut Butter Fudge

2 C sugar

3/4 C milk

5 Heaping Tablespoons of plain or chunky Peanut Butter

Mix ingredients in a heavy bottom saucepan. Simmer over medium heat until it reaches soft ball stage, stirring constantly. (Check for soft ball stage frequently). Remove from heat and beat with a hand mixer on medium-high speed until mixture loses most of its gloss. Transfer to a buttered pie tin or 8x8 square pan. Let cool and cut into squares.

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Scones

Remember what I said in my last post about baking more with whole wheat? Well, I've done it. (or at least started it). It is quite funny really... I woke up on the first and decided to be sweet and cook something for breakfast. I'm not a super huge eggs fan so I defaulted to baked goods. I rummaged through the cabinets to see what I had to work with. I usually know these things, but hey, I was gone for the holiday and forgot.

I found I had a small amount of all purpose flour and a large amount of self-rising flour (if any of you can tell me what to do with this I'm ready relieve space in my tiny cabinets). Sitting next to these was my hardly-used whole wheat flour bag. It looked so sad, all full, fat, and neglected. It's true. I don't use whole wheat flour much. I should but I don't. In order to make this little bag of flour happy I searched for something to make with pumpkin that I needed to use. I found a scone recipe and decided to give it a go. After all, the recipe swore you couldn't tell they were made of whole wheat. Skeptical, I started the scone process. I forgot to check for butter in my wasteland of a fridge and turned up empty. I thought about attempting the Earth Balance spread but decided that stuff was too expensive to waste (just in case) and adapted the recipe using shortening. At the time, I was thinking... "a scone is like a biscuit - so I could probably substitute shortening for butter... they just won't taste as good." So I went for it and cut in shortening instead of butter. Mixed everything as required and sliced 8 scones. Baked 'em up fairly quick and just in time for M to arrive in the kitchen. (He slept in - and by arrived in the kitchen, I mean walked 10 steps from the bedroom to see what smelled good).

I was on my second cup of tea and decided to snap a few pictures while I had good light. All this time wondering if they were going to taste like cardboard or not. And oh the wait was finally over....

Eh, I guess they were fine. A little bland and lacking strong pumpkin flavor, we decided to eat them like the British and topped them with a slab of butter. If we only had clotted cream... At least I remembered to add a big handful of chocolate chips which helped some. I don't think I will make these again, and to save you I'm not posting the recipe here. I'll definitely find some more whole wheat recipes but from a trusted source. So all of you trusted sources out there - send me your favorite whole wheat baked good recipe! Don't worry either, I'm not at all distressed that the first recipe of the year was not a huge success. It just means I have a lot more room to improve.

My Top Ten of 2009

Today is the first day of 2010, so Happy New Year to you all. I thought today would be a good day to reflect on the past year of my blog and I have decided to recount my top ten recipes. Before we reflect, I'm going to tell you all about my baking plans for this year, resolution style. I don't typically make resolutions because they tend to get shoved aside or are so unrealistic that they are on the skirts of achievability. Food related resolutions are new for me and definitely attainable. Do you all have resolutions for the new year?


I'm going to attempt to use more whole wheat flour. Not so much for health reasons, mostly because I tend to run out of all purpose flour all of the time and the whole wheat bag sits in the cupboard feeling unwanted and depressed. If I had a repertoire of more whole wheat recipes I would definitely cook with it more often.


I'm going to try hard and not skip the Daring Bakers Challenges for the whole year. This will require me to plan ahead, not procrastinate, and make some items I don't like. It is difficult when you know the recipe at the beginning of the month and don't have to post something until the very end. I might have to make up more reasons to celebrate with baked goods during the month.


I am going to make more bread. Plain and simple. I can't really say quantity-wise what "more" is equal to, I'm just going to make more of it. I have a lot of great cookbooks at my fingertips and I enjoy bread a lot. (I believe I've mentioned before bread is one of my favorite smells). It would also be nice to have more home made bread with dinners or lunches. I'm not limiting myself to just hand made either, I'll bring my bread machine to this challenge too. 


I am going to post at least one non baking item each month. M and I cook a lot and I think some of these meals you might enjoy too. We have a plethora of food delivered to us twice a month from our local CSA and we cook with it each week, so why not share it too? After all, people who read this might not have the itch to bake quite as often as I do.


I would like to celebrate food more. This means all of you in San Fran might gain a few pounds with me. In an effort to appreciate the Slow Food Movement, and because M and I like to host dinners, I want to have people over more often for food. Cooking and eating together, good wine, what more could you ask for? (I haven't discussed this one with M yet, but I'm pretty sure he will be ok with it).


I think this is enough resolutions for now, I'll let you know if I come up with more later. Now, on with this recap of my favorites from '09. (What do we call 10 by the way? It seems so awkward without the "O" in front of it). Here they are in random order.


Savory Puff Pastry

I enjoyed this Challenge for Daring Bakers. We made puff pastry from scratch (which I may never do again) and I came up with this savory topping. I absolutely loved them. You can make it store bought pastry but I definitely recommend trying the filling. 


Wedding Cake

Making a wedding cake is one of the highlights of my year. The challenge of it was unreal. I would love to make another if the opportunity presents itself. 


Four Cheesecakes

I like cheesecake. I don't make it often because it is so terrible for you (though most of the desserts I make are not "good" for you) so I made the most of it using 4" mini spring-form pans. They were so cute and tasty. I'd definitely make some of them again. 


Cookie Cake Tower

Who would not like a three layer cookie cake for their birthday? I chose this one because I felt it was creative and good. Not to forget it traveled from California to Virginia in one piece! 


French Style Bread

Bread, one of the techniques I attempted to master this year. I can't say I am a master yet (hence the resolution to continue making more of it this year) but one day I might make bread like my dad numero dos. This french loaf was one of M's favorites his dad made growing up, and I wanted to continue the traditions. It makes two loaves so you can save one for later or feed a lot of people. 


Carrot Muffins

Are you wondering why there is a picture of carrots here? It is because carrot muffins come from my early days of the blog when I was not obsessed with taking photos of food (or they were so good we ate them all before I could snap a shot). I didn't post the recipe in my original post so you are welcome to view it here. 


Frozen Lime Pie

Not only was this a wonderful dessert, it brings back lovely memories of the Grenadines. After a week of sailing we relaxed at one of the most beautiful houses on St Lucia. Check out these amazing pictures by M. Then be sure to check out the website for the house if you feel like taking an extravagant vacation (pictures on the website do not do it justice). The house comes with the chef and two other house staff (one of which created this recipe). She also makes amazing curry chicken and mahi mahi. I'd like to be there right now. 


Walnut Ice Cream with Tomato Caramel Sauce

This recipe was inspired by my desire to make our plethora of tomatoes into a dessert. It worked, it just was not as literal as eating a tomato for dessert. Hidden in a caramel sauce the tomato gave a new depth of flavor to this amazingly creamy ice cream. If you have the supplies I recommend trying it. 


Mini Fruit Pizzas

I used to make this dessert a lot. I changed the recipe a little bit most recently and enjoyed it more than usual, especially served cold. A crowd pleaser when fresh berries are in season. 


Cornbread

One of M's favorites. It accompanies soups, jambalaya, gumbo, fish, and whatever else we can create to go with it. I think it would go wonderful with a new recipe I came across Pumpkin Turkey Chili. Give it a try, you won't even know the pumpkin is in there. We like it so much I sometimes think we choose recipes just so we have an excuse to make it. A good reason to keep buttermilk on hand at all times. 

Mint Brownie Chip Ice Cream

I'm pretending to be Ben (or maybe Jerry). Picture me lounging on the couch reading cookbooks, wishing ice cream would appear out of thin air. If only I owned a multi-million dollar corporation with an endless supply of ice cream at my fingertips.  I do this often (the part about reading cookbooks I mean). I am pretty sure I have read 90% of each cookbook I own, but I can't remember all of those recipes so I visit them often in search of inspiration. I was craving some ice cream recently and since it was M's turn to choose the recipe he made it very difficult and said "mint with chocolate." Ben and Jerry know ice cream, but so does David Lebovits. Oh, how do I choose with all of those beautiful ice cream photos?


I have a slight tendency (ok a huge tendency) to not make decisions... mostly to questions that don't matter too much, like "where do you want to eat?" or "did you have any place in mind for drinks after work?" which I typically respond with either "I don't really care" or list off three places that may work. I'm trying to be better, it is just a tough habit to break. I am very decisive when it comes to work related stuff, but baking is a different creature. There are too many options, and usually too many recipes I want to make all at the same time. Faced with the vague comment of "mint with chocolate" I turned to my two ice cream cookbooks and found nothing. Haha. It is true. Nothing really sounded good. I kept pestering M with more questions to try and force some legitimate information from him (like chocolate chips or shavings) and he wasn't very much help. He has similar tendencies... what a couple we make! 


In the end I finally decided I wanted to make something with brownies and chocolate chunks. Chunks in ice cream are very important, chunks in jello we could all live without. I used the Ben & Jerry's Sweet Cream base for this one and added my own slightly larger portions of mix-ins than the recipe called for. It turned out wonderful. I might have liked more brownie chunks and less chocolate chips, but the mint and chocolate combination was successful. Next batch is my choice... wish me luck... or tell me your favorite ice cream and maybe I'll make it. 

Easy Bake cOven - Thanksgiving Pie

For this months Easy Bake cOven recipe, Elisa chose pie. Since this month begins the holiday season and seems to require a lot of baking, Elisa thought it would be best for our recipe to contribute to the Thanksgiving meal. Why is pie so traditional anyways? Maybe because it is so delicious.... I made another dish to accompany our Pie, Pumpkin Creme Brulee, which I will post about separate from the Easy Bake cOven pie.

It was hard for me to veer away from pumpkin pie since I am obsessed with it, but M thought it would be best not to have two desserts of the same origin. I made Chocolate Pecan Pie instead because I had all of the ingredients on hand. I can't believe we went through so many eggs in one day (an entire dozen in only 3 dishes). The pie was one of Emeril's recipes which I find can be hit or miss. It looked really nice and the crust came out flaky and crispy.

The filling was incredibly rich, and I would recommend refrigerating this after it is cool so the filling firms up a little more. When we cut into it, the pie was a little bit runny. I don't know if this had to do with the ratio of liquid to solid - or if I should have baked it a few minutes longer (covered of course). It was good, runny or not. Having a slice of this pie actually took me over the edge just a little. We drank a great bottle of Merlot with it (Merlot + chocolate is an amazing combination) which made the pie so much more intense. I love this holiday, I don't love the feeling you get after you eat way more than you should in one sitting. I'd like to compare this recipe to my mother in law's just to see if there was something I could change to help it solidify. Oh, and Emeril has a caramel sauce to top it with, but that seems a little excessive. I can't imagine making a rich pie even more intense!

I didn't use the crust recipes Elisa included because I wanted to try a new one from my new cookbook. It turned out so well I want to share it with you all.

Pie Crust

Yields 2 crusts

2 1/2 C flour

2 T sugar

2 sticks butter

1 tsp salt

1/2 C ice water

1/2 tsp white wine vinegar champagne vinegar (i didn't have either and used vodka instead)

Cut butter into one inch pieces (really big chunks) and chill in the freezer for 15 minutes. Sift flour and sugar into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the frozen butter and salt and mix for about 2 minutes or until the butter looks like walnut pieces. Stop the machine and pinch any remaining large hunks of butter by hand. Mix the vinegar with the cold water, turn the mixer on low and add to the dough all at once. Mix until the dough just comes together -15 seconds or so. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Cut into two pieces and roll out. You can keep the extra crust in the fridge for 3 days or in the freezer for 3 weeks.

Be sure to check out the cOven in the next few days to see everyone's Thanksgiving pie creations - or check below for those who linked their blog to mine! Happy leftover eating!

The Lovely Lady Baker

Ice Cream! Ice Cream!

I got this fantastic ice cream attachment for my kitchen aid mixer for my birthday this year and wanted to share with you my first creation. I don't want to make everyone nervous, but a friend informed me of a canned pumpkin shortage this year... I went to the store closest to my office to investigate and surely enough, they were out of pumpkin. Bummer. I love baking with pumpkin and will hopefully find some soon.... but this is not the story of lost pumpkin, this is the story of an amazing sale on raspberries! The store had raspberries on sale for only .99 each (carton). I bought 6. I was so proud when I came home to show my husband - silly I know - but you just have to take advantage of sales sometimes. (much cheaper than a shoe sale right?)

I don't think it took 5 minutes before I had my new cookbook in hand thumbing through the raspberry recipes. I didn't have enough to make a complete raspberry ice cream (can you believe it) so I opted for the raspberry swirl. A very simple vanilla ice cream mix with mashed raspberries swirled in before freezing.

It turned out a very nice and light texture ice cream. A good balance between ice cream and fruit, and possibly one of the best vehicles for mini chocolate chips. I hope to be making more soon, though I have instituted a one flavor at a time rule (sorry M). I told him he gets to choose the next recipe... he mentioned some with lots of chocolate and brownies. I told him he should look at the Ben & Jerry's cookbook for that one. Yea for homemade ice cream.

Raspberry Swirl Ice Cream

makes 1 1/2 quarts

Ice Cream:

1 C whole milk

2/3 C sugar

1/8 tsp salt

1 1/2 C heavy cream

5 large egg yolks

1/2 tsp vanilla

Raspberries:

1 1/2 C raspberries

3 T sugar

1 T vodka

for the ice cream, warm the milk, sugar, and salt in a medium saucepan. In a medium bowl whisk egg yolks. Slowly pour the milk mixture over the eggs whisking constantly. Return to the saucepan and heat over medium heat until the mix coats the back of a spoon. (stir constantly). In another medium bowl pour in the cream and set a strainer over the top. Once the custard is done pour into the cream and add vanilla. Set in an ice bath and stir until mixture cools. Cover and refrigerate until completely cool.

An hour or so before churning the cream, mash the raspberries with the sugar and vodka. Chill until ready to use.

Freeze the ice cream according to your ice cream machine instructions. Once the cream is done, layer it in a plastic container with spoonfuls of raspberry mix. Use a spoon or small spatula and while keeping it completely vertical, make two swoops around the bowl to incorporate the raspberry mix. Freeze completely (about 4 hours or overnight). Serving with chocolate is definitely recommended!